(he/him)

Neon

Jon was first introduced to neon as a student at MCAD in the late 70's. In 1982, he started Neonistics Custom Neon Designs. His company produced thousands of feet of neon, both custom and commercial, through 1996. He has been working as a freelance glass bender for other companies since then. He's taught neon classes at MCAD and the American School of Neon. His goal in teaching at CAFAC is to introduce a new generation to the possibilities of the creative use of neon and to pass on the knowledge of the craft.

(he/him)

Blacksmithing

Life time learning has defined my multiple interests and creative reinventions. Woodworking, Blacksmithing, Copper chasing/repousse, bronze casting are now part of my tool kit. My approach to teaching and learning is for students to select projects that are personally interesting and dive in. No matter where a student’s artistic interests lie, it’s the practice of moving hot metal that is important and seeing the results of using a hammer & anvil to change form, move mass and volume with simple tools.

(she/her)

Blacksmithing

Gretchen is an artist and metal fabricator with an enthusiasm for sharing the craft. She has been working in metal for about a decade and holds a Minnesota historical boiler license. Some favorite projects include: a fold-out aluminum bicycle trailer for the Hennepin Library, the Southside Battletrain human powered ferris wheel, and a set of railings made from grain elevator trolley rail. She currently works as half of Carlyle Industries in North Minneapolis.

(she/her)

Jewelry

Crystal Celeste has been creating copper enamel & silver art for 15+ years, as well as teaching various jewelry-making workshops for 10+ years. She is energized by motivating others to manifest their artistic visions and creativity within. Identifying as mixed-Chicana, she humbly explores the intersection of her identities, experiences and artistic process.

(she/her)

Blacksmithing & Welding

Becca Cerra is a Queer, Female Artist living with Physical Disabilities and Mental Illness. Each of these identities informs the art she creates and the advocacy work she is involved in. She is passionate about contributing to the inclusivity, accessibility, and equitability within arts organizations and spaces. She believes art is for all and is honored to help make that possible.

(she/her)

Enameling, Welding & Blacksmithing

Heather has been inspired by fire as a creative and empowering tool since her first industrial arts class in high school. After working in industry as a welder, fabricator, and product designer, she became a fire arts educator in 2006 and developed a new sculptural welding and blacksmithing program at Minneapolis Community & Technical College. At CAFAC, she continues her work as an educator and mentor in sculptural welding, blacksmithing, enameling and public art. She served on the Minneapolis Arts Commission for four years and continues to contribute to the creative sector through educational partnerships, sculpture fabrications, selection panels for arts organizations, and emerging artist mentorship.

(she/her)

Lampworking

Mary Ila Duntemann creates art glass beads inspired by the colors, textures and patterns that surround her in the natural and human-made landscape. She captures these influences, working each unique piece by hand using traditional methods. She finds joy in witnessing the aha moment when students are able to read the honey consistency of molten glass to explore glass creations of their own. She is primarily self-taught but has studied with Kristina Logan, Aja Vaz, and Holly Cooper. She exhibits at regional art shows including the St Anthony Park Art Fair, Grand Marais Arts Festival and the Powderhorn Art Fair.

(she/her)

Jewelry

A multidisciplinary creative with a background in dance performance and choreography for over 20 years. Her expansion in handcrafted crystal vibrational adornments began in 2010. She then expanded her private sound practice to public service in 2020 amid the uprising from the murder of George Floyd. Her mission is to share the power of natural healing through the senses with a holistic focus on healing. Layered with crystal healing and sound healing in collaboration with the community. She has been a student and teacher at CAFAC since 2021. Currently teaching free form wire wrapping and soon to come resin jewelry. Her vibrationally charged work is featured at Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center’s Nokomis Gallery.

(he/him)

Blacksmithing

Pete is a local artist and blacksmith with a passion for DIY ethics and sharing knowledge to empower community. Pete runs his own metalworking business in south Minneapolis, where he crafts custom commissions using various metals and woods to create unique pieces of art and functional furniture. As an instructor, he is dedicated to ensuring everyone is respected and is met where they're at, regardless of skill level or learning style.

(she/her)

Jewelry

Laura is an artist, teacher, and crafter that has been making jewelry for a heck of a long time. Basically, since she learned to cut pictures of diamonds out of the Sears catalog as a kid. Laura has been teaching silver jewelry classes in the Minneapolis area for 20 years. As an instructor she loves to share her knowledge and is inspired by the new ideas her students create.

(he/him)

Blacksmithing

Roger has a BFA from UW-Stout, with a concentration in Interior Design. He has been teaching for the last 6 years, assisting students in the creative design process to resolve clients' needs. Roger's exploration of sculptural welding began several years ago, and as an instructor, he finds inspiration in observing the unique way others create objects and resolve problems as they acquire new skills.

(she/her)

Encaustic

Kathleen Kvern is an abstract painter based in Minneapolis. She works in encaustic and mixed media creating multi-layered paintings inspired by the beauty of the natural world. Her work has been juried into exhibitions at The Phipps Center for the Arts, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Tubac Center of the Arts, Northfield Art Gallery, Inez Greenberg Gallery at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, Gallery 360, and at the Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition among others.

(they/them)

Stained Glass

Samael Leopold-Sullivan is an artist and educator with a passion for sharing their myriad skills with others. They have an MFA from Alfred University in Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, and have been teaching stained glass at CAFAC since spring of 2022. They delight in seeing their students grow in confidence and skill, and approach teaching with the goal of helping students make art and have fun.

(she/they/her/them)

Metal Casting

Brighton McCormick is a sculptor and art fabricator living and working in South Minneapolis. Her interdisciplinary practice focuses on sculpture, gallery installation, and public art primarily utilizing metal casting and reinterpreted found objects. McCormick has a BFA from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from the University of Washington. She is currently a Visiting Professor in Sculpture at Hamline University.

(she/her)

Metal Casting, Enamel & Blacksmithing

Jess has been exploring art her entire life and was introduced to her first fire art in cast metal as a teenager. She has been teaching and creating with the metal casting process professionally for the past decade following completion of degrees in both Studio Arts and Art History from the University of Minnesota. Since her involvement with CAFAC began in 2011 as a volunteer, Jess has broadened her love of the fire arts to include many processes and enjoys mixing them with non-fire related techniques. Jess is a teacher to her core and loves sharing her passion for creating with others and seeing the joy of possibility in her student's eyes as they learn new skills. Jess also delights in bringing unique fire arts creative opportunities to interesting and unusual places and working with non-traditional creators, while offering education and art-making experiences in communities, using her bicycle and trailer transported "Pedal to the Metal" art engagement tools.

(he/him)

Blacksmithing

Dan Osadchuk's earliest memory is of stumbling into his grandfather’s blacksmith shop when he was two years old and becoming so mesmerized that his father had to drag him out kicking and screaming. His fascination with metalworking continued through high school, where he became the shop teacher’s assistant, and into his first job out of technical college in the largest machine shop in St. Paul. He started building his blacksmithing practice 25 years ago and is a member of the Guild of Metalsmiths through which he’s taught various blacksmithing classes.

(he/him)

Metal Casting

Professor Emeritus, Department of Art, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN and Scholar of the College Emeritus, [College of Liberal Arts]. Potratz's expertise includes: Meso-American, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Western African metal casting methodologies, as well as, historical Western technologies and contemporary materials practice. He maintains a studio in Minneapolis, MN, where he does creative research in contemporary art, sculpture, and metal smelting and casting technologies,

(he/him)

Blacksmithing

Jim is a jack-of-all-trades with decades of experience in woodworking and construction, who discovered his passion for metalworking at CAFAC as a student under David Mariette. Some of his work can be seen in the gardens of the Circus Juventas Big Top. Jim says, “during my thirty-eight year career with the military traveling the world I have learned many important life lessons. Most importantly, we are all human. We should always treat one another with dignity and respect. It is my mission to share the positive experiences and wisdom I have gained along the journey.”

(she/her)

Jewelry

Jhyle is a curator, contemporary jewelry artist, picture framer and the gallery coordinator for the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center. In her curatorial practice she attempts to stretch the boundaries of the art gallery norm. Her goal is to give space to see art from different perspectives and she seeks ways to make it accessible and open to every person, providing both the artists and the viewers a safe space to connect to art and those that make it.

(she/her)

Jewelry

Tai is a local goldsmith and jewelry instructor with 15 years of teaching experience. Her areas of expertise span metal fabrication, casting/wax carving, stone setting, wire wrapping, lapidary, and more. She lives with her wife, step-kids, two cats and the best dog in the world.

(he/him)

Metal Casting

Woody has been discovering and implementing methods of mold making techniques primarily for the casting of metal and concrete for the past 10 plus years. After earning his MFA degree in sculpture from Fort Hays State University Woody then obtained his teaching license and taught the industrial arts for a few years in Kansas. Now back in his hometown of Minneapolis he continues to work in metal fabrication as an independent contractor while also teaching and spreading the joy of creative expression. WSSG Designs is the name of his business where you can find more of his creations as well as his recent usages in 3D printing and digital design work. Woody empowers his students with a fun and supportive classroom environment that is considerate of the needs of everyone involved.